Barcelona came from two goals down to earn an exciting 3-3 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan. The result means Inter’s poor record in Spain continues, as they’ve now gone 11 away games without a win there.
Inter, who hadn’t won in their last four matches before this one, got off to a dream start. Just 30 seconds in, Denzel Dumfries crossed the ball for Marcus Thuram, who flicked it cleverly past Barça goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny and into the bottom corner.
Shocked by the early goal, Barcelona pushed forward, with Ferran Torres missing two decent chances. Inter made them pay in the 21st minute, when Dumfries scored again with a brilliant overhead kick after a smart flick from Francesco Acerbi.
Barcelona responded quickly. Young star Lamine Yamal weaved through several Inter players and curled a lovely shot in off the post. Just three minutes later, he nearly scored again, but Inter keeper Yann Sommer tipped his powerful shot onto the crossbar. Barça kept pressing, and just before half-time, Raphinha headed the ball to Torres, who calmly finished to make it 2-2.
Inter lost their key striker Lautaro Martínez to injury at the break but still looked dangerous. They missed a big chance when Federico Dimarco fired over from close range. However, they went ahead again in the 63rd minute when Dumfries headed in from a corner by Hakan Çalhanoğlu.
But Barcelona hit back almost immediately. Raphinha’s powerful shot hit the bar and bounced off the unlucky Sommer into the net, making it 3-3. Both teams kept going for a winner. Mkhitaryan had a goal ruled out for offside, and Yamal hit the woodwork again at the other end. Despite late chances, neither side could find a fourth goal, leaving the tie finely balanced ahead of next week’s second leg in Milan.
